Casino hypermarkets are testing a so-called “dynamic” pricing system by offering more expensive products on Sundays. Consumer expert Olivier Dauvers has revealed this practice, which can see certain products increase by 15 to 40% depending on the day and time of day they are on the shelf.
The “dynamic princing”. This is the name of the policy adopted by the Casino group. Its principle consists of varying prices according to demand and consumer behaviour in order to optimise the shop’s turnover.
While this type of practice already exists when buying a train or plane ticket (charging more when the plane is full, less when it is empty), it is almost non-existent in the retail sector, especially as it works in the opposite way: the fuller the shop, the cheaper it is; the emptier it is, the more expensive it is.
This practice was revealed by the specialist in mass distribution, Olivier Dauvers. He measured the evolution of prices of 676 products in five hypermarkets of the Casino group, operated under the brands “Casino HyperFrais” and “Géant Casino”. Private labels are as much concerned as national brands, and some cases may raise questions.
For example, a batch of four Danettes goes from 2.10 euros on Saturday at 6pm to 2.85 euros on Sunday at 10am, i.e. 36% more, even though the initial price is itself part of the upper limit of the market (on average 1.75 euros in France). Similarly, Monsieur Propre detergent is up 17% in 16 hours.
+15% HIGHER PRICES ON SUNDAYS
It is on Sundays, the last day of the week, that prices are on average 15% higher than the day before and this concerns between 40% and 65% of products “eligible” for this practice, i.e. those with an electronic label that are not on special offer.
The idea, presented in January 2019 by the owner of the Saint-Etienne-based distribution group Jean-Charles Naouri, is that “prices can vary according to the day and time”, in this case, making the customer pay for the service and the cost of being open on Sunday morning.
